I have spent the last three days lying around the house feeling generally useless. I have had no energy. In a way, I wish my symptoms were worse so that I could feel better about abandoning the tour.
The folks at a local bike shop all came down with “the flu” which may or may not be the exact illness I have but it sure sounds like what I’ve got. The Washington Nationals had an outbreak in early May. Their catcher was so sick he lost 15 to 20 pounds. I should feel lucky.
Truth be told, I wasn’t feeling so hot when I left home last week. I attributed this to the usual pre-tour anxiety but maybe it was the first signs of the illness. This would explain why the second day climb through Fredericksburg and the ensuing 30 miles were as so much harder than in 2017.
Yesterday I drove to REI to get some replacements for tour items. One was a power pack. I bought one from Best Buy a month ago but I never could get it to work properly. It didn’t come with instructions that I could find. The new power pack was very similar in design. It had instructions. I plugged it in. Then, on a lark, I followed the same instructions for the old power pack. Voila! It worked. During this process I opened the box that the old power pack came in. There, under some packaging, were the instructions in a small booklet. Dang.
So today I needed to return the new power pack to REI. Instead of driving, I rode. I figured I needed to test my fitness to see where my body was at. The ride is generally flat, until the last half mile when some climbing is involved. I felt crummy the whole way – lead legs, coughing up gunk – and the climbing didn’t help.
The REI return process went smoothly and I headed home by a different route. Again, most of the way was flat. Still I kept having to clear my lungs. About five miles from home there is a 100-yard incline to negotiate. I zipped up it. My legs felt better. Hmmm. How odd.
About two miles later I decided to take a hill that I have used for tour training in the past. It’s maybe 150 yards long and pretty steep. Definitely granny gear worthy. I rode nearly all the way to the top in my middle chain ring, then got out of the saddle and muscled the last 50 yards over the top. Whoa.
I finished strong, 30 miles in all, and felt fine. There’s a lingering trace of congestion in my chest and sinuses but I feel better than I have in a week.
So, how do I proceed?
Well, hanging around home for the next six weeks isn’t going to happen. It’s boring. Moreover, it’s dangerous because my wife will kill me. She wants alone time too.
I have two options to resume the tour. Option 1 is to ride to the Amtrak station 6 1/2 miles from home and take the train back to Charlottesville. I’m not crazy about this idea because the loading process could damage The Mule, and I’d have to deal with the mechanical aspect of removing and installing the wheel without a stand. (I know, I’d have to do this if I get a flat. I’d rather avoid it if I can.)
Option 2 is to ride The Mule to Charlottesville by a more or less direct route: 75 miles or so to Culpepper on Day 1, 50-ish miles to Charlottesville on Day 2. (My tour route was about 230 miles).
After Charlottesville, I get back on the Trans Am, starting with 30 miles to Afton and the Cookie Lady’s house . This involves a brutal climb for the last five miles. Then, 30 or so miles up to and along the Blue Ridge to a campground in Love VA. Then it’s downhill to Lexington. Depending on how I feel, I could do Afton to Lexington in one day. Thursday the weather improves so I am thinking of leaving then.
Either way I have been thinking of ways to lighten my load: leave my master link tool (they look like pliers) and my allen keys home (a multitool will have to do). I can take two spare tubes instead of three. (I have patch kits.) I can switch my off-bike shorts and belt to a second pair of bike over-shorts. Also, I’m going to leave the maps for the Great Rivers South and Lewis and Clark routes home. I’m only taking four TransAm maps and one Route 66 map (in case I continue to Oklahoma City). All of this might come to a pound. Anything else I might use I can download from Adventure Cycling. Every ounce counts.
If I feel good tomorrow, I’ll start packing for Round 2 of the Mo Mo Tour.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Glad you’re feeling better! Don’t overdo!
I knew you wouldn’t be off the road for very long. Good luck and enjoyable riding to you as you resume the tour.
6 weeks dodging death sounds more exhausting than the tour! Good luck 🤞
I know you want to get back on the road. But keep in mind that you might feel better but your lungs, especially, and body have taken a hit. It may take a week or two to get back to touring speed and distance. For some reason I find my 6 mile walks take more out of me than they used to. Despite doing it every day my endurance never seems to strengthen. 70 might have something to do with it. Or maybe one of the 3 ‘colds’ I’ve had since October had a lingering impact. Some call it ‘long Covid’ when that virus is the cause of your illness, but I wonder why the others like the common chest cold, sinus infection, or the flu can’t do the same thing. Be safe and take your time. Better to take longer to get there than to ask yourself why I was in such a hurry. Remember. You are retired. No time clock to follow.
I woke up today feeling fine. My lungs and sinuses somehow cleared. There is unsettled weather for the next three days and cooler temperatures on Thursday. Unless I relapse, I’ll leave.
Besides the pound of stuff you might leave behind, I bet you lost at least another one being sick. Since the master link tool is more important for removing than installing a link, you can probably get by without it if the need is for an emergency on-road repair. It’s kind of amazing you’re ready to get back on the road already. Let that sink in for a moment.
I watched a few videos that show how to disengage a master link with a brake cable. It’s pretty clever and probably not as easy as it looks. And I bring a spare brake cable anyway.
What a journey this has been. I suppose if sickness were to occur, better at the beginning when you’re closer to home. I’m amazed you are nearly ready to get back to it!
Hooray, you’re feeling better! You forgot to list that you can’t hang around home because your dedicated followers would have no adventures to read about!